site.btaVelichie MP Mateeva: Rule of Law in Bulgaria Has Given Way to Rule of Lobbyist Law

Speaking in Parliament here on Wednesday during the fifth no-confidence motion in the Rosen Zhelyazkov Cabinet, Velichie MP and Deputy Parliament Chair Yuliana Mateeva said that the rule of law in Bulgaria has been giving way to the rule of lobbyist law, which allows a few oligarchs to appoint people to state administration positions whether they have the necessary competence and qualities or not.

Mateeva said that one of the effects of state capture is having the public divided into us and them, -philes and -phobes, and, above all, having the opposition divided. She stated that the Bulgarian people would benefit from having this model disbanded, which is why Velichie finds the no-confidence motion just and backs it. The MP continued: "A symptom of state capture is the names of the people currently in power, because they can easily be replaced, but rather the structures, the state system of dysfunctional institutions that needs the Borissov-Peevski [GERB leader Boyko Borissov and Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski] model. It is a system fuelled by dependence, compromising information, and fear. This system is neither democratic nor European. It is a system of a third-world colonial state and cannot be a model of a state governed by the rule of law."

The MP reported that Velichie's efforts are aimed at dismantling the model of state capture, because changing the individuals behind it would mean that the model would persist. She added: "A few people control what remains of the economy, the judiciary, the media, and the security forces, and they create institutions to crush their political opponents. They have their own government."

Mateeva concluded that the lack of justice in Bulgaria is painfully palpable as a result of the oligarchs' rule. She said that Velichie is aware that this process emerged in the past, however, the Zhelyazkov Cabinet is doing nothing to change it; on the contrary, the Cabinet is defending the model, which is why Velichie is backing the vote of no confidence.